Hot drinks in France
(Source: Euromonitor.com) 2005

Fundamental changes in consumption habits

Even though climatic conditions were less dramatic than during the legendary heat wave of 2003, the overall trend for the French hot drinks market in 2004 was that of stagnation and maturity. Such maturity proved difficult to fight since it comes from fundamental changes in consumption habits.

Wafer coffee systems helps boost stagnating market

The future of hot drinks in France will depend on the success of new launches and levels of consumer confidence during the forecast period. The successful launch of Senseo (wafer coffee system) in 2001 gave fresh impetus to fresh ground coffee. The 2004 launch of Tassimo systems by Kraft was expected to bring further dynamism back to the hot drinks market as a whole, as this machine can be used for the preparation of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Increased interest in fair trade concept In 2004 fair trade and organic coffee was still dominated by smaller manufactures, all carrying the Max Havelaar fair trade label. Two of these, Meo and Malongo, showed remarkable results in 2004, given the difficult market conditions, with former having recruited 130,000 households over the past year. Organic coffee manufacturers attempted to gain volume shares by focusing on premium products in order to differentiate their products from large and well-established manufacturers. Consequently, they often lack extensive national coverage, which constrains their growth. Private label, such as Monoprix and Auchan, are also increasingly present in organic coffee. Industry professionals highlight the strong potential for growth in organic products as they are mainly premium and high priced, and are therefore likely to benefit from the general trend towards quality hot drinks over quantity.

Kraft Foods France maintains leadership

Most companies involved in the French hot drinks market are subsidiaries of multinationals. Kraft Foods